Abstract
Introduction
The precise pharmacological action of inchinkoto (ICKT, Yin-Chen-Hao-Tang in Chinese), a hepatoprotective herbal medicine, on total metabolic pathways has not been well investigated.
Objectives
The aim of this study was to explore the serum metabolites reflecting the pharmacological activity of ICKT, and mechanism of action of ICKT using serum metabolome analysis.
Methods
54 patients with obstructive jaundice due to malignancies were included in this study. ICKT was administered for 3 days. Serum and bile samples were collected before and 1 h after ICKT administration on days 1 and 4. Serum metabolome analysis including ICKT components were performed.
Results
The levels of total/direct bilirubin, C-reactive protein, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, and albumin in the serum were significantly improved after ICKT administration. In the serum metabolome analysis, inosine was the only elevated metabolite on days 1 and 4. Most of the metabolites which were significantly changed after ICKT administration were lipid mediators, and all decreased on day 1. Notably, the levels of many lipid mediators were increased on day 4. The difference in serum aspartic acid 1 h after ICKT administration was significantly correlated with a decrease in the levels of total bilirubin in the serum on day 4.
Conclusions
Using metabolome analysis, we demonstrated several metabolic changes that may be associated with the pharmacological mechanisms of ICKT. The biological implications of these metabolites should be further investigated in basic research studies.
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Data availability
The datasets used in the current study are available on request from the corresponding authors. The data are not publicly available due to privacy policy.
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HY, TE, MN, and YY designed study. HY, TE, and YY performed clinical study and sampling. KO, KT, and HK performed measurements. HY, KO, and YY conducted statistical analysis. HY, KO, and YY wrote the manuscript. MN revised the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Tsumura & Co. provided the funds for this research. K.O., K.T., and H.K. are employees of Tsumura & Co. Y.Y. and M.N. received funding for this research from Tsumura & Co. H.Y. and T.E. have no conflict of interests to declare.
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Supplementary Material 2: Summary statistics of the results of serum metabolomics. Supplementary material 2 (XLSX 21.9 kb)
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Yamashita, H., Ohbuchi, K., Nagino, M. et al. Comprehensive metabolome analysis for the pharmacological action of inchinkoto, a hepatoprotective herbal medicine. Metabolomics 17, 106 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11306-021-01824-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11306-021-01824-0